Corsets on display in New York exhibition
February 4, 2009 
A selection of traditional corsets, stockings and dressing gowns are currently on display at the Erie County Historical Society in New York in a revealing retrospective of local fashion.
All of the items on display were donated by the Historical Society and are intended to be a fun look back at vintage women's undergarments in preparation for Valentine's Day.
Historical Society curator Becky Weiser told the Erie Times News: "I think it's a neat thing. It's kind of a mystery to people, what people wore back then."
Among the items on display is a corset worn by an adult woman with a 21-inch waist dating back to 1869.
Weiser explained that women wore corsets back then in order to give the body "an hourglass shape" and, of course, they can still do so now.
An 1870s slip, made of white cotton and lace, is also being exhibited and Weiser said that this delicate garment would have been worn on top of a corset.
